Ultra was woodcutter, scribe before he ‘joined BJP’

Jammu, July 5

Talib Hussain was initially a woodcutter before taking to journalism and then reportedly joining a political party. In police records, he has been mentioned as Talib Shah, son of Haider Shah.

A resident of Draj village in Budhal area of Rajouri district, Talib has three brothers and one of them is a lecturer in a college in Jammu.

Talking to The Tribune, one of the neighbours of Talib Hussain, seeking anonymity, said the latter worked as an aarikash (woodcutter) in the forest area of Draj. He later developed interest in politics. “Talib has three brothers. One of them works as a contractual lecturer in a Jammu college. The other two do not have a regular job. His wife gave birth to a girl just three or four days before he was arrested in Reasi. As he was on the run, he couldn’t even see the newborn,” the neighbour said.

When this correspondent contacted Sarwar Shah, brother of Talib, to know about his association with the BJP, he refused to comment and disconnected the call.

A cousin of Talib is a former militant. In 2019, he faced a police case for robbing a saffron trader.

Talib worked for an online news portal as a journalist for one year and three months. When contacted, the organisation’s editor said Talib joined the channel in March 2021 and covered mostly Rajouri district. “I met him at the BJP office in Jammu many times. He had good links with senior leaders of the party. When he approached me for work, I sought his character certificate which he provided,” he said.

According to the news organisation, he sent his last story on May 31 this year after which he quit, claiming he was not able to concentrate on journalism as he had a lot of work to do in the party. “Even intelligence agencies were not able to know about him when he got his photos clicked with senior BJP leaders, then how can I get to know about him?” asked the editor.

Though the BJP has been denying links with him, a letter in circulation on the social media states Talib joined the Minority Morcha of the BJP’s local unit as IT and social media in-charge on May 9 this year. He reportedly resigned on May 27. Unconfirmed reports say he had been associated with the party for years.

Quit job in May this year

• According to information, Talib Hussain resigned from politics on May 27 and quit a news portal on May 31 this year.
• His wife gave birth to a girl 3 or 4 days before his arrest. He was on the run, evading security forces, so couldn’t even see the newborn.
• One of his three brothers is lecturer in a Jammu college.